The Design of the Berlin Wall: From Fences to a Brutal Border

🧱The Berlin Wall was initially made of fences and loose bobbed wire, but it was later upgraded to a concrete wall.

☠️The death strip, a stretch of dirt in full sight of the watchtowers, made escape attempts almost impossible.

🎨The wall became a canvas for graffiti, highlighting the stark difference between artistic expression in the East and the West.

💔Tragic stories like Peter Fer's demonstrate the risks people took in attempting to escape to the other side of the wall.

🌉The Berlin Wall was only a small part of the division of Germany, with the whole country also being divided into two parts.

How many victims were there from the Berlin Wall?

—The exact number of victims from the Berlin Wall is disputed and still being researched.

Why did the East German authorities increase the security features of the wall over time?

—The East German authorities wanted to make escape attempts more difficult and prevent their citizens from fleeing to the West.

What was the purpose of the graffiti on the wall?

—The graffiti on the wall served as a form of artistic expression and often mocked the East German government.

Did anyone successfully escape across the Berlin Wall?

—Yes, there were successful escape attempts, but they were risky and often required careful planning and ingenuity.

What was the significance of the death strip?

—The death strip, located in full sight of the watchtowers, made escape attempts almost impossible due to its lack of cover.

00:00The Berlin Wall split the city of Berlin into two parts, separating East and West for almost 30 years.

02:00The initial wall was made of fences and loose bobbed wire, but it was later upgraded to a concrete wall and topped with bobbed wire coils.

05:27Tragic stories like Peter Fer's demonstrate the risks people took in attempting to escape to the other side of the wall.

09:24The wall became a canvas for graffiti, highlighting the stark difference between artistic expression in the East and the West.

11:31The Berlin Wall was only a small part of the division of Germany, with the whole country also being divided into two parts.